Colorblind
by cinnamonfaygo
Summary: Gamzee is a mechanic hired by Her Condescension to keep up the repairs of her airship, the Cuttlefish, on its maiden voyage. As far as everyone but his moirail, Karkat knows, he's just Gamzee Opphee, a lowly maroonblood. His true blood color would condemn him to death under the harsh rules of Earth in 1853. What happens when a young Cavalreaper is determined to discover his secret?
1. Chapter 1

Gamzee Makara grinned happily, adjusting his brazen goggles slightly before hitching his bag up a bit higher on his shoulder with a laugh as he admired the airship waiting for everyone to board. The Cuttlefish was one of the newer designs, a sleek zeppelin with steam powered propellers that could bring the dark grey and gleaming copper vessel up to speeds around 70 MPH, exceptionally fast for the times. The year was 1853, nearly sixty years after her Imperial Condescension had come across the beautiful blue planet.

Looking over at his shorter moirail, Gamzee grinned, ruffling Karkat's hair. "Motherfucking miracle, ain't she?" Gamzee laughed, looking back to the gleaming sight with wide eyes, ignoring the stares they got from others for their rather odd attire. Most trolls made a point of displaying their blood color in any way possible, including showing off skin, the ashen color tinted faintly with their color. In stark contrast, the sigils on the pair's long sleeved button down shirt were a pale grey, revealing nothing whatsoever. While Karkat stayed simple, with just the shirt and a sturdy black pair of pants, Gamzee went to much farther measures to hide his blood color. A dark grey shirt under a pitch black button down vest and fingerless gloves, a soot stained white scarf around his slender neck, and the face paint of a member of the cult of the Mirthful Messiahs, all pulled together by welder's goggles over his bright indigo eyes.

"Whatever. It's just a fucking ship, Gamzee." the older of the two said dismissively, crossing his arms as he looked suspiciously at the Cuttlefish. "Well, this motherfucking miracle is going to be taking off without us, brother!" Gamzee laughed happily, hitching his bag of tools up higher on his shoulder before taking Karkat's hand and starting to pull the fiery Cancer towards the entrance, ignoring the stream of profanities coming from his moirail.

Once they'd made their way onto the ship, the pair began looking for room 3-219, obviously on the third class level. They weren't exactly having the easiest time, though. "Where the hell is it?" Karkat groused, pushing through the crowds. Her Imperial Condescension had designed the hallways almost like a labyrinth, the numbers not in any particular order at all. "We'll find it, brother, don't you worry." the skinny Capricorn assured him, looking around curiously and not really paying any attention to where he was going at all as he adjusted his scarf slightly to better conceal his indigo tinted skin. Due to the murderous nature of many indigobloods, humans had strictly banned them from stepping foot on Earth, not even to be swayed by Her Condescension's numerous threats and bribes. Her power was weak so far from Alternia, and they knew it. Any indigoblood found on Earth was to be culled on sight, which in Gamzee's opinion was a great reason to go to such pains to conceal his blood color and give a fake last name whenever he was asked.

Mulling over that for a second, Gamzee continued walking without looking where he was going, head turned to look at the door numbers when he accidentally collided with another troll, a surprised squeak escaping the Capricorn as he fell back onto the carpet, completely off balance. The tools in his bag jingling when he hit the floor, he blinked up at the other troll, a sturdily built brownblood, a sheepish smile breaking across his painted face. "Sorry about that, brother!" he chirped brightly, taking the offered hand with a smile as the other helped him up. "Nothing to, uh, be sorry about. I should have been looking where I was, uh, going." the slightly shorter of the two smiled pleasantly, holding Gamzee's cooler hand for maybe a moment longer than necessary before pulling back and picking up the slender troll's bag and handing it to him. "Thank you! Oh, do you have any idea where we could find motherfucking room 3-219?" he asked, slinging it back over his shoulder. The other's eyes lit up at the prospect of being able to help someone, nodding. "Yeah, it's right across from my room actually!" the bull-horned troll smiled, turning. "Follow, uh, me!" Gamzee grinned brightly, pulling Karkat back towards him from where he'd been checking across the hall and briskly beginning to follow the other male. "What are your names, by the way?" the other called back curiously, running a hand through his mohawk. "I'm Gamzee Opphee, and this cute little motherfucker's Karkat." the Capricorn informed him willingly, giving his own last name as that of a relatively well known group of maroonbloods instead of his own condemning surname Makara. "And you?" The other smiled, stopping at a door marked 3-219 after several confusing turns. "Nitram. Tavros Nitram."


	2. Chapter 2

Gamzee gave him a quick thank you again, smiling happily as he looked over the door, searching his pocket for the key and a low curse slipping out when he couldn't find it. Almost instantly the image of the small iron piece laying on his bedside table popped up, and he groaned quietly, splaying one thin hand on the door. "Is everything alright…?" Tavros asked worriedly, cocking his head slightly as a look of realization spread across Karkat's face. "Gamzee...you forgot the key, didn't you?" he growled lowly, furrowing his brow. Giving his moirail a sheepish grin, the mechanic nodded silently. "Gog damn it all, Ga-" "Yeah, yeah, just give me a second." he cut the irate little troll off with a wave of his hand, dropping to his knees and pushing the panel protecting the lock, the polished brass springing open with little prompting and working on the clockwork inside, slim fingers carefully aligning the gears inside until with a click, the door swung open, revealing the interior of their quarters. Grinning happily, Gamzee pushed the panel closed again, standing up and brushing his hands off on his pants before looking back to the other two, Karkat rolling his eyes and muttering a quick thanks before going in and claiming his own bed. "...Wow. Any chance you could teach me how to do that?" Tavros asked, milk-chocolate brown eyes wide as he looked at the other, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Of course, anything for a bro!" Gamzee nodded willingly, tossing his bag inside after pulling out his leather toolbelt, clipping it around his slim hips. "Well, you know where us motherfuckers are, feel free to visit any time." the Capricorn hummed lightly, adjusting the brazen goggles on his face slightly as he smiled happily at Tavros. "I'd better get started on my motherfucking rounds, though." he said almost regretfully, knowing there'd be hell to pay if he didn't. The last thing the mechanic wanted was to attract unfavorable attention from her Condescension. The bull-horned troll nodded slightly, looking to the side and hesitating for a moment. "Mind if I come with you?" Tavros asked a tad hesitantly, looking back to Gamzee with a slight shrug, looking at the toolbelt before back to the slightly taller of the two's painted face. Gamzee blinked, surprised, before nodding as his smile came back. "Sure, why the motherfuck not?" he giggled, turning and starting to walk towards where he knew the stairs to the lower levels were. "Come on then, bro!" the slender Capricorn called over his shoulder, laughing slightly as Tavros immediately moved forward quickly so as not to be left behind.

-Tavros' POV-

Tavros Nitram. A young Cavalreaper rising quickly through the ranks, and visitor to dozens of planets during her Condescension's drive to conquer all. He'd seen a lot in all his twelve sweeps, but nothing had quite piqued his curiosity like the slender lowblooded mechanic currently touching up some frayed wires in front of him, kittenish fangs biting slightly on his lower lip as he worked. There was just something...off about him. That's the best way Tavros could put it. It was still early autumn, yet Gamzee wore clothes better suited for early winter if anything. It was literally impossible for the Cavalreaper to figure out his blood color, and although the other claimed to be an Opphee, it just didn't quite fit him. Delicate features better fitting a highblood, his cool body temperature from the short contact he'd had helping the other up from the ground...Teal, maybe. Or cerulean. But why would he try to hide it….? That line of thought was cut short as the lithe mechanic moved on, catching Tavros' eye with his fluid, graceful movements as he moved to the next panel, pressing it open and proceeding to touch up on the little gears inside. The slightly shorter of the pair moved closer, watching Gamzee more than his skilled work, thankful they were in the abandoned lower part of the airship, where no passengers had been bunked. The once white carpet a dirty grey, the bronze and copper plating dull and smudged, doors hanging haphazardly open, Tavros should have been mildly disgusted by the unkept state it was in. But instead his mind was thinking about what color the other's eyes might be if he could persuade him to get those goggles of his off. Snapping out of it, he realized Gamzee had asked him a question and was waiting expectantly for an answer, looking curiously at him. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, Opphee." he stuttered slightly, running a hand through his cropped mohawk nervously, a pale coppery blush rising. Gamzee laughed slightly, looking back to his work. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting motherfucking bored, Tav. And feel motherfucking free to call me Gamzee, bro!" he smiled, Alternian accent giving a lilt to his tenor that nearly had Tavros slipping into another daze. "No, I'm not bored….Gamzee." he assured the other. _Far from it._

((Author's Note: I forgot to mention this, but it's kinda a Steampunk AU...so like SteampunkStuck? The rating might change later, it depends. And reviews are great! Constructive critiscim please, flames will be used to make bacon.))


	3. Chapter 3

-Gamzee's POV-

Completely unaware of the warm eyes watching his every move, Gamzee moved on to the next panel, a low growl slipping out as he saw the state of disrepair it was in. How could a brand new airship have gotten fucked up so quickly? Indigo eyes rolled behind dark tinted lenses as he quickly regained his chill, the mechanic carefully working the set gears back in place while clipping off or avoiding curls of jagged metal, biting his lip in concentration. One slip could reveal his secret, condemning him to an early death. After only 10 sweeps, the last thing on his mind was getting culled by one of her Condescension's drones like an unpailed troll. Shivering slightly at the thought, Gamzee shook away that line of thinking, continuing his work as best he could. _Shoddy motherfucking job._ he thought absentmindedly, having finished as much as his limited tools would allow. Shutting the panel once more with a mildly irritated huff, the Capricorn shrugged, turning back to Tavros. "Any chance you have a timepiece, brother?" he asked, there being no windows in this part of the _Cuttlefish_ that he could use to guess approximately what time it was.

-Tavros' POV-

Tavros nodded with a slight smile, pulling a small watch out of the pocket of his dark brown pants, flipping it open and checking the slowly ticking hands. "It's nearly six." he stated, a tinge of surprise in his voice as the Cavalreaper looked up, letting the timepiece click shut before slipping it away. Had they really spent so much time down here? "Do you still have, uh, work to do, or…?" he trailed off slightly, giving a shrug. "I think this is about all I can motherfucking get done on this level." Gamzee shrugged, checking another panel and finding everything in working order. Once the mechanic was looking away, Tavros had to stop himself about half-way through a quick once-over, looking to the side with a light blush coloring his face. _Snap out of it, Nitram!_ he snapped silently at himself. "Or what?" the Capricorn asked, looking back to Tavros with a smile, pushing his goggles up slightly as he waited for a response. "Or do you want me to walk you back to your room?" the Cavalreaper responded, grinning a tad nervously as he tried to will away the coppery blush on his cheeks. Red at first sight? Impossible. His accident FLARPing had convinced him there was no such thing as happy endings. "I can find my motherfucking way, Tav." the mechanic giggled, nodding anyway. "I'd like that, nonetheless." Tavros grinned at the positive response, taking a risk and the other's hand as he started heading back up to there deck, delighting in the slight squeak of surprise he pulled from Gamzee.


End file.
